Medical Marijuana Deliveries Prosecuted as "Sales"

The young man told cops “he was going to make four or five more deliveries that evening.” He obligingly showed officers where to find the 15 gram bag of marijuana and THC-infused candies and one rolled cigarette that were located in his car.

Taylor Patrick Jensen said he was part of a “collective” called “Higher Elevation” and that he delivered marijuana to “patients,” according to Carlsbad police sergeant Matthew Lowe, who testified in San Diego’s North County Superior Courthouse today.

Carlsbad peace officers interrupted Jensen’s deliveries about 6 p.m. on a Tuesday evening, June 12, after a citizen reported witnessing suspected drug sales from a vehicle.

Testimony this afternoon suggested that Taylor Patrick Jensen, 22, and his mother Kristin Jensen, 43, operate a medical marijuana dispensary from their home in Carlsbad; it is named “Higher Elevation” and is said to be a non-profit corporation which delivers marijuana.

Private defense attorney Lance Rogers told the court that the operators of Higher Elevation have a proper seller’s permit, and he compared the “permissible reimbursements” of money to “giving a tithing to a church.”

Prosecutor Benjamin Barlow questioned whether the organization was actually a cooperative, since he said only Kristin Jensen’s name was on the articles of incorporation. Barlow also argued that payment of money for the marijuana was not a “donation” since the defendant reportedly told officers that he would not leave the “medicine” if he didn’t get paid.

Defense attorney Lance Rogers suggested to the court that current California law allows members of a marijuana collective to contribute “in kind” to a collective by “contributing” money.

Judge Daniel Goldstein stated that when the California legislature wrote the applicable law it did not include “monetary consideration” as permissible, but it did mention “cultivation,” and so Judge Goldstein concluded “they didn’t want any sales going on.”

Judge Goldstein further noted that the legislature created a “threshold of primary care-giver,” but that “primary care-giver” was not the role that Taylor Patrick Jensen described for himself to officers.

Taylor Patrick Jensen, 22, was ordered held to answer a single felony charge of possession of marijuana for sale, the maximum sentence for which could be 3 years local custody. Jensen is not currently in custody, and his next hearing date is set for August 30.

Comments

Can we get back to real crimes? The people of California have spoken twice and want marijuana available to the sick and dying; but cops, prosecutors, district attorney and judges insist on writing their own laws. Enough.

Im with tj, what in the hell are the GED cops doing wasting time, $$$ and energy on this BS for?????? This is not real crime. And the people have spoken on this issue, they want limited LE resources used on REAL CRIME.

During alcohol prohibition, all profits went to enrich criminals and corrupt politicians. Young men died every day on inner-city streets while battling over turf. A fortune was wasted on enforcement that could have gone on education, etc. On top of the budget-busting prosecution and incarceration costs, billions in taxes were lost. Finally, the economy collapsed. Sound familiar?

Prohibition causes massive crime and suffering, causes government/police corruption, causes America to have the highest prison population of any country in the history of the planet, causes Americans to lose all their rights and all their true core-values, causes the waste of trillions in taxpayer dollars, causes wars, violence and death (at home and abroad), perpetuates racism, causes America to be hated by other countries, and funds both criminals and terrorists.

For God's sake wake up! The prisons are bursting, the police are corrupt, most of us are not even safe in our own homes anymore, while the whole country/planet is on the verge of a total social and financial collapse.

More and more states are opening their eyes to the lies the government has fed for years concerning cannabis, yet things like this still happen? Sounds like he had all the necessary paperwork and permits to act a delivery service in a state where that is legal, but he still faces having three years of his life taken from him? Science has shown us in the past twenty years that cannabis is not a "poison" or a "drug" (as was told to us by our government for 60+ years), it's non-addictive and it's non-harmful. It's been proven to be -- not only a useful treatment -- but a superior treatment to a whole variety of diseases and illnesses ranging from AIDS to cancer to arthritis.

It's a medicine. And it's not a medicine made by a company with a hundred chemicals that cause side effects ranging from depression to death. It's a natural medicine that grows from our Earth, a plant that was here before we were. It has no side effects other than making people hungry, relieving pain and helping resolve insomnia.

It's pathetic that authorities continue to waste their expenses and their time arresting good people like this man, people who aren't breaking the law. Especially when I've seen with my own eyes that many cops steal the product and use it themselves -- especially in San Diego.

I am shocked that this is the sort of thing the Carlsbad police focus on and waste OUR tax dollars on to prosecute! Let me share with you my own recent personal experience with the San Diego Law enforcement. Last week I set up a neighborhood watch meeting within our condo complex in regards to problems we were having with a meth user and his meth friends. He destroyed property,(including three vehicles) and financially preyed on an elderly resident in our complex. He and his friends caused so much chaos and crime in our complex that I found myself constantly calling the police. After numerous calls to the San Diego County Sheriff's office I was told that I needed to get a restraining order to keep this troublemaker away or they would not be able to help me and my neighbors. I listened to them and did exactly what they said to do and got a restraining order. After many attempts to catch this criminal, the sheriff's department finally caught him breaking the restraining order and he was finally arrested. They found needles, meth & guns on him! I thought that this was the end to the problems in our neighborhood but they kept him in custody for only thirty days and then DROPPED the charges! - the meth addict was released last week! At which point I contacted the San Diego sheriff's office to implement a neighborhood watch within our community so we can protect ourselves. They set it up for 8/8/12 Wednesday evening) I spent my own money and time making flyers & posters, as well as hand delivering them to all the tenants here. We had a great turn-out in our neighborhood community. Unfortunately, we were all sitting there WAITING for the sheriffs department to come to conduct neighborhood watch training. They never showed up or even called me to cancel! To date they have not even returned my phone calls. Where is the accountability? I have lost my trust and faith in the San Diego County Law Enforcement!! My message to the Carlsbad Police is .....Wake up! Focus on real criminals and REAL crimes!!